Saturday, 27 July 2013

Legalise Mary Jane

This week, Justin Trudeau came out in favour of legalising pot. I think I can support his position: pot is not any more harmful than alcohol or tobacco, and both of those are legally available throughout the country. Legalising marijuana would allow its production and sale to be subject to vice taxes, as is the case for both smokes and booze. And it would allow police resources to focus on more serious crimes.

If we do go ahead and legalise MJ here in Canada, though, I'd like it to be restricted in a way similar to booze:

1. Limit the sale and consumption to people of 18 years of age or older. I don't want my kid smoking (and once he's an adult, he'll be able to choose for himself).

2. Limit the consumption of marijuana to private residences or licensed facilities. I don't smoke MJ myself, and I don't want my visits to the park (or downtown, or other public places) to be subject to clouds of pot smoke, any more than I want to be exposed to cigarette smoke.

3. Ban driving or use of heavy machinery whilst under the influence, as with booze.